Thanks everyone for the kind comments. The highlights were a little tricky as it was a pretty sunny day Steve - I have a bit of a ramshackle bunch of software which I have accumulated over the years, but in general for B/W like this I process the RAW file with DXO Optics pro, then the output from that gets opened in Photoshop elements for any further fine tuning - normally just shadows/highlights, brightness/contrast and a bit of levels; in this case I converted to mono using DXO film pack, picking whichever preset I think works best (I especially like neopan acros 100 and agfa APX 25, although I then often tweak a little with that software) - although equally I also use Silver Efex Pro, or simply 'Convert to Black and White' in PSE; then, if I want to burn the edges I normally use Silver Efex Pro functions as I like its functions better than the vignette functions in either PSE or DXO film pack; finally, back into PSE for dodging and burning (I like to burn the backgrounds on shots like this to get rid of extraneous clutter and fences/wires etc. normally). Sounds laborious, but actually it is pretty quick and I make use of presets and things which I have set up.

Cheers

Hello all. It seems like absolutely ages since I have posted any pictures on here. Been very busy at work, and moved house, so I have been a bit distracted. However, on holiday last week though I managed a day at Marwell Wildlife near Winchester and grabbed a bunch of shots and thought I would share some of them They were all taken using the K5 and the DA*200 (my favourite lens for places like this). I enjoyed Marwell, it seems like it has been very much modernised since I last went there (years ago!).

1. Hakuna Matata!




2. Melman




3. Oryx




4. Somali Wild Ass (although clearly not that wild just now)




5. Wiseguy!




6. Mini Dorcas




7. Me and my shadow




8. Waldrapp's Ibis




9. Crowned Lapwing




10. and to round off, a Eurasian short toed Otter (and quite a cutie!)




I hope you like them - there are a couple more on my flickr stream if anyone wants to see more.

Cheers

Gosh. Not sure... my thoughts are: was it raining, giving droplets on the filter? was the viewfinder covered (otherwise light could leak in through that) and was the filter as close to the front of the lens as you could get it? otherwise you may have got some reflection from the back of the filter if the light was coming from behind you... Am sure others on here will a more definitive answer

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That's tricky with two lenses to cover all of that (depending on the sorts of pics you want to take). I think I would look at sigma's 30mm and 85mm (both f1.4), and then maybe their 70-200 as well for a longer reach (sorry that's three lenses!)

I have a pentax 540 flash which I find does very well - I use it with a diffuser more often than not, and a cheapo cord to be able to get it off the hotshoe.

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Ooh, that is a very cool set

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For a long time I used adobe camera RAW which is integral to photoshop elements, but I have recently been using DXO Optics Pro, and think it is the tops!

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Gosh - great set. All really good. I have a soft spot for Red Backed Shrikes so that would be my choice of them, although the fox is tippy top

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I certainly wouldn't rely on getting a definite keeper on the day. Having tried to shoot birds in flight (indeed snowy owls in fact) it is bloomin' hard! I have found I get best results by pre-focussing on a point where I know the bird will fly, and using burst mode on the shutter. If nothing else, you know he will be on the perch at the back, and at the front, so you stand a good chance of getting a decently in focus take-off or landing (you might struggle to get both on the day given that its a one-chance deal).

Whilst I would of course try to get the magic shot on the day, I would be inclined to take a load of shots at the rehearsal (and try to get a good one of the owl), then also take a shot of the congregation on the day from the same viewpoint, and in necessary stitch the two together in photoshop. You'll also need to watch the owl at the rehearsal to get a feel for his flightpath; I imagine the owl may well dip significantly off the perch and may fly quite low before flaring up to land on the top perch - will he definitely be over the heads of the congregation? or might he fly down the owl at lower than head height - that will make for even more of a challenge!

A wide angle shot might work better to get a decent DOF and a better chance of a keeper on the day, it'll also hopefully capture the looks of delight on people's faces...

Good luck!

Cheers

I have read all sorts of them over the last few years, and got rid of a huge stack of assorted mags recently when I moved house. Now i ration myself to just one, my favourite - Black and White photography.

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I am not sure that there is an adapter, although, given that they are 'R' lenses they can be re-mounted to work as manual lenses on a Pentax DSLR - check out 'Leitax' online. I think the specifications of Leica R and Pentax K are so close that an adaptor is impractical and remounting is the only way (someone else will tell me if I am wrong though:wink

I use a Leica R5 as my main film camera and only have one lens - the 50mm summicron f2 - the same as you mention. It's a great lens on film so I'd love to see what it is like on a DSLR. I seem to be using it more and more these days...

Cheers